Ask coaches about Noah Willer, who just graduated from Salem High School, and superlatives would never stop about the hard-working, high-scoring athlete.

Willer also is humble, completely floored when he found out he won the prestigious Salem Male Athlete of the Year Award at a recent honors program.

"Absolutely," said Willer, about whether the honor surprised him. "To be honest, I didn't even know the award existed until a week before the event. ... I didn't really expect to win. It was a nice surprise."

Willer, a lanky athlete with an easy-going personality when not in the middle of combat, was nominated by his two varsity coaches during 2014-15 — boys hockey coach Ryan Ossenmacher and boys lacrosse coach Corey Mattingly.

"His stellar performance on the ice pales in comparison to his leadership and character off the ice," Ossenmacher noted. "Noah has developed into one the best leaders and young men we have had during my time at Salem.

"Whether it's stepping up vocally in the dressing room or by his performance on the ice, his teammates knew that he would never ask them to do something he wasn't also willing to commit to."

Willer Ossenmacher added that he thinks so highly of Willer that he'd be comfortable letting him babysit his daughters.

"Noah's character is also exactly what you want from a young man," Ossenmacher continued. "The best compliment I can pay any of my players is that I would let them babysit my daughters.

"Noah Saad and Noah Willer, two of our captains this year, were also my oldest daughter's favorite players. She loved going out to breakfast with the team and being around the rink and on the ice with the 'Noahs.'"

One of the best

Willer, a forward, led the Rocks with 25 goals and 18 assists, helping spark a run to the first regional championship in school history. Both Willer and defenseman Saad made the all-Observer first team.